Finishing What We Started
by Destruct0Girl
Summary: After defeating The First, Faith begins to make sense of her and Buffy's complicated relationship. But the clearer things get, the more confusing they become. Disclaimer: New characters aside, I own nothing. Joss is God. R&R please.
1. On The Road

"Yeah Buffy, what are we gonna do now?"

If Buffy answered Dawn's question, then Faith didn't hear it. She was too busy asking herself the same thing. There was so much Faith wanted to do now that the battle was finally over. At the moment her brain was telling her two things: eat and sleep. They were definitely at the top of the list. _Let's just start with that._

She looked ahead at the gaping hole stretched out before her that used to be Sunnydale, California. It had all happened so fast; Sunnydale had been destroyed in a manner of minutes. Destruction had literally chased them out of town. Now there was nothing left behind them and everything set out in front of them. How would they start the rest of their lives? How would they even start the next five minutes? Nothing was certain anymore.

Faith was first to break the silence.

"Not to spoil the moment, but what now? We're kind of lacking in terms of a plan. And we've still got a bus full of seriously tired and shaken teenage girls."

Buffy turned to face her friends. She didn't really care what came next; all that mattered was that they had survived. But Faith was right. The girls that had made it through the fight would have to get home somehow; and Buffy…where _was_ home for her and Dawn? She finally began to realize the reality of the situation.

"Faith's right." She nodded. Faith felt her cheeks begin to flush. Buffy rarely agreed with anything she said these days. But she guessed there was no denying the fact that they seemed to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. "We need somewhere to go, even if it's just temporary. We could all use the rest. Food would be nice too."

Buffy turned to Giles, who took off his glasses and cleared his throat. For once he didn't have all the answers.

"Well, it would appear that we…well, I suppose we have no choice but to…"

"Drive." Xander spoke up for the first time since discovering that Anya had been killed during battle. His face was sullen and care worn, and his eyes, or rather _eye_, was red and glassy. Dawn had been watching him as he looked out over what was left of Sunnydale. She had seen him choke back his tears and clench his fists. He was struggling with feelings of pride that were mixed with despair. Dawn tore her gaze from Xander; his sad face was causing tears to well up in her own eyes.

"I… guess there's nothing else we can do, right?" she choked on her words and wiped her eyes. Buffy had been staring at her feet trying to work things out in her head. She looked up and sighed.

"Alright, I guess we get back on the bus."

"And go where, exactly?" Kennedy stood with her arms folded across her chest. Up until now she had just been staring in wonder and gratitude at Willow. Buffy began walking towards the bus and Faith followed after. She stopped in front of the door and looked back at everyone.

"I have an idea."

Giles had taken his spot at the front of the bus and chuckled slightly as he began driving to lord knows where. Most of the girls were falling asleep after only seconds on the road. Willow sat with her arm around Xander as Kennedy watched from the seat across from them. Dawn had placed herself at the front of the bus, across from where Faith and an unconscious Robin Wood were sitting, and Buffy was walking up and down the aisle of the bus making sure that all the sleeping girls were actually asleep and not dead. She checked random pulses and comforted some of the more worrisome girls. Faith had been watching her repeat this routine for about five minutes when Buffy finally took notice to the eyes following her. Faith quickly looked away but Buffy was already on her way to the front of the bus. She sat next to Dawn, who was more or less kneeling on her seat looking out over the open desert road. Buffy turned and faced Faith, who busied herself by checking Woods wounds.

"How is he?" Buffy asked. Faith looked back up at Buffy and cleared her throat; it felt dry and scratchy. When she spoke her voice was raspy and it cracked a little.

"He comes in and out. He'll live, but I'm thinkin' a coma would do him some good right about now. Hell, I could go for one myself. Now there's something I never thought I'd hear myself say." Buffy wasn't sure whether Faith was trying to make her feel guilty or not. She didn't feel like getting into that just now; but when she saw that Faith's lips had formed into her oh-so-familiar crooked smile, Buffy smiled back. Things were quiet for a moment and Buffy's eyes returned to the road, but Faith's gaze lingered on her. She was about to say something; anything, when Buffy quickly turned back to her and spoke first.

"I should go check on everyone...again." Faith closed her mouth and nodded. Buffy furrowed her brow. "How are you? You gonna be okay?" But she had predicted Faith's answer within a split second of asking.

"Five by five," both slayers said in unison.

They both smiled and chuckled softly. Buffy rolled her eyes and stood up, but was immediately met with a surge of pain from the stab wound in her side. She clutched her side as her legs buckled from underneath her and she fell forward. Dawn turned to see her sister as she started to fall but was powerless to help.

"Buffy!"

But Buffy's fall was cut short as Faith stood up to meet her halfway. With Buffy in her arms she fell backwards on to her own seat, causing Robin to stir a bit. Buffy closed her eyes and grimaced in pain as she allowed all of her weight to rest on Faith. The bus had swerved a bit from Giles turning around to make sure that the slayer was okay but his eyes were now back on the road, occasionally glancing up at the reflector mirror. Dawn let out a sigh of relief and collapsed back into her seat. Everyone on the bus who was still awake poked their heads up, except for Andrew, who was in shock and had barely spoken two words the entire time.

Faith held Buffy as close as she could and looked down at her. Her eyes were still closed but her face was no longer twisted in pain. Up until now Faith had almost forgotten about Buffy's wound. But now, flashes of the incident shot into Faith's mind.

_She watched in what felt like slow motion as the Turok-han stepped up behind Buffy and slid his knife right through her. Faith felt her heart stop as Buffy fell to the floor._

"_Buffy!" Faith effortlessly dusted a vamp that was coming at her, then tossed her stake to the ground and ran to Buffy's side. She watched in heartbreaking agony as life quickly began to leave the tiny slayer's body._

"_H-Hold the line…" Buffy sputtered; she too thought it was over. Without hesitation she handed Faith the scythe. Faith nodded in understanding and took the weapon in her hands, shaking slightly. As Buffy began to close her eyes, Faith tore herself away from the fallen slayer. Her vision became blurred with tears as she turned, and in a fit of rage and sorrow, began tearing through the Turoks with the scythe Buffy had entrusted to her._

Faith blinked as she came back to the present. Buffy was still resting against her but was now staring up at Faith, wondering what was going on in her head. Faith felt her heart sink as she recalled what had happened. _I almost lost her… for good._ Absent mindedly Faith removed her hand from Buffy's back and started to bring it towards the older slayer's face, intent on wiping a tear that had strolled down the blonde girl's cheek. But when Buffy saw Faith's hand approach her skin she flinched and looked away, causing Faith to snap out of her trance like state and retract her hand. She shook her head a bit and cleared her dry throat once more.

"You okay, B?" she asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice. Buffy nodded as she somewhat hastily withdrew from Faith's arms and stood up as slowly as she could without hurting herself. She held onto the leather seat for support and looked down at Faith, perplexed and unsure of what had just passed between them.

"Buffy…look!" Dawn was pointing to the road not far ahead. They were approaching what looked like a diner and gas bar. Buffy turned from Faith who swallowed hard, having been released from Buffy's prying eyes, and came up behind Giles, still using the seats for support.

"Giles…"

Giles nodded and began to slow down.


	2. What It Means To Be A Hero

Carley had been leaning against the counter, reading the latest issue of Cosmopolitan when she noticed a yellow school bus pull into the gravel lot. She was confused; the nearest town had been evacuated several days ago for unknown reasons and it seemed unlikely that this school bus was coming from there.

She had been chewing her bubblegum quite excessively, but when the door of the bus opened and its passengers emerged, her chewing slowed as she watched in bewilderment.

The first person to step off the bus was a young girl of about sixteen, with light brown hair and blonde highlights. Her clothes were dusty and she walked with a bit of a limp. Carley could have sworn she saw some blood on her shirt too. But this girl was nothing compared to the next person to come off of the bus. Another girl, in her early twenties it looked like, blonde and very petite. She too was limping but she was also clutching her right side, which seemed to be bleeding. She was followed closely by a brunette of roughly the same age, maybe younger. She had a few bruises on her face, but her attention was on the little blonde girl, as if worried she might collapse at any second.

"Hey Earl, I think you better get out here!"

The owner of the diner, Earl, emerged from the kitchen; his white shirt splattered with grease. He was about to ask Carley what was going on when he caught a glimpse of the party that had formed around the bus outside. They were an odd bunch, mainly consisting of teenage girls. But there was also a guy with an eye patch, an older man with glasses, and a smaller guy with a quif in his blonde hair and scratches all over his face. There were others on the bus still, but none of them seemed to be planning on coming out. The ones outside the bus began to head towards the front door, lead by the tiny blonde. All of them seemed battered and bruised. Who were these people?

Buffy pushed open the door of the diner, causing the little bells on the spring to jingle. Faith, Dawn, Giles, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Andrew and Vi filed in after her. The waitress and what looked like the cook were staring at them, dumbfounded. Buffy turned to her friends and nodded for them to sit down. They all went over to the nearest booths, except Faith who took a seat at the counter on a bar stool next to where Buffy stood.

"What now?" Faith asked as she eyed Buffy. But Buffy didn't answer her; she instead turned to Carley and Earl who seemed very confused.

"Can we use your phone?"

Earl nodded and grabbed a cordless phone from beside the cash register and handed it to Buffy. Faith watched as Buffy seemed to be struggling to recall a certain number. She dialed some numbers, shook her head, hung up and started over, before finally bringing the phone to her ear. As the phone rang Buffy glanced over at Faith who was still watching her closely. Their eyes met for a moment but then someone on the phone picked up and Buffy quickly looked away.

"Yeah, hi; I need to speak with Angel, please." At this, everyone perked up and looked over at Buffy. None of them knew what she had planned, nor did they understand how it involved Angel. "Tell him it's Buffy Summers and that it's really important. Thank you."

"B, how's Angel gonna-" Buffy held up her hand to silence Faith as Angel picked up.

"Angel. Hi." There was a pause as Angel spoke. "Yeah…it's over. We won." Earl and Carley heard this and looked at Faith with lost expressions on their faces.

"Oh, uh…poker tourney." Faith cursed her inability to think of something credible on the spot, and said the first thing that came to her head. Earl looked at the state of everyone in their group and replied.

"The stakes must have been pretty high."

Buffy looked at Faith and they both smiled,

"The highest".

Ten minutes later they were all back on the bus, still parked in the lot of the diner. Buffy stood before all of them with her arms folded. She looked over all of the faces in front of her. Rona, Choa Anne, Vi, Colleen, Kennedy and a small handful of others were all that remained of the former potentials. They had suffered casualties, but they had all fought bravely. Spike, Anya…Amanda; Amanda had kicked some serious ass before finally going down. Buffy couldn't have been more proud to have fought along side all of them.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to let you all know how proud I am, of everyone." Some of them looked up to meet Buffy's eyes, while others lowered their heads.

"I know that doesn't seem like a lot. Maybe it means nothing to you. But it means a lot to me, to the whole world. Don't get me wrong: from this moment on your victory will go unnoticed. Nobody will ever know how close we came to the end. Nobody will ever know how bravely you fought; how bravely our friends fought. But none of that matters. No one other than me is ever going to thank you again because nobody else knows what you've accomplished; what we've accomplished together. But that doesn't matter either. You've saved the world. Ever wondered what a real hero looks like? Look around. You're it; all of you." Andrew noticed that Buffy had even shot him a glance.

"Because of you, people all over the world will wake up tomorrow morning to find that the world hasn't gone and changed on them. The sun will rise and set just like it always has, all because of you. You're all tired and hungry, I know. You're grieving. I am too. We lost a lot of friends. But do NOT feel like it was in vain. The world will never know about them or about what they sacrificed, but they're still heroes. They died saving the world, and even if no one knows it they'll still always be heroes, and so will you. Don't ever forget it."

Faith was looking at Buffy in awe. Buffy turned and smiled at Faith with tears in her eyes. "Well?"

Faith nodded. "It was good."

Buffy sighed and wiped her eyes. "Good, because I'm never giving another inspirational speech as long as I live." They laughed together for a moment before Dawn came up to Buffy looking teary-eyed as well. She hugged her sister tightly and whispered into her ear: "Mom would be proud."


	3. A Little Help From A Friend

After Dawn let go of Buffy, Willow and Xander approached Buffy with teary eyes. Willow wiped her eyes and smiled, but it was short lived. There was a bit of a situation.

"Buffy, we need to do something," the red-head frowned. Xander nodded in agreement. "Rona and Robin are hurt pretty badly and a few of the others aren't doing so well either."

Kennedy came up beside Willow with a disapproving look on her face.

"Why are you making us wait around when we should be getting these guys to a hospital?" Her voice was bitter and filled with annoyance.

Buffy quickly shook her head.

"Some of these girls are hurt pretty badly. Hospitals will ask too many questions; Questions that we can't even begin to answer."

Kennedy's jaw dropped and she inched closer to Buffy.

"Well what are we supposed to do? Sit here and wait for them to die?" Buffy opened her mouth the respond when Faith stepped in front of her.

"Hey! Back off!" Faith's hands were curled into tight fists, ready for a fight. Buffy sighed and pulled on her arm.

"Faith…"

"No." Faith pulled her arm free and stepped closer to Kennedy. "You may be a slayer now, but you wouldn't even have that if it weren't for Buffy. Chances you'd still be standing here right now are pretty slim, so show some respect. She's lead you this far, and if you have a problem then you can hitchhike back to wherever the hell you came from."

The whole bus was silent. Willow wanted to stick up for Kennedy, but she knew her girlfriend had been out of line. Kennedy turned her face from Faith's and clenched her teeth.

"I'm sorry. I just… don't understand what we're waiting for." Faith looked back at Buffy, who nodded. She then stepped aside. Buffy looked at Kennedy with stern eyes.

"We're waiting for Angel." Giles, who had been watching with his arms crossed, finally perked up but with a puzzled look on his face.

"Angel?" He asked, "Buffy, I'm afraid don't see how Angel is going to be of much help here."

"Then listen up." Buffy replied. She then spoke loudly enough for the whole bus to hear her. "Alright guys, help is on its way. Two helicopters will be here soon to pick us up. A friend is sending them." Everyone close enough to Buffy to know about Angel looked utterly confused. Willow was the first to speak up.

"Angel owns a helicopter? …Angel owns **_two_** helicopters?"

"They belong to his law firm." Buffy replied absent mindedly. Giles furrowed his brow.

"Angel has a law firm?"

"I thought he was a detective?" Xander interrupted.

"Maybe he's a detective for a law firm?" Dawn chimed in.

"Angel owns a helicopter?" Willow repeated. Once again Xander intervened.

"Why would a detective need a helicopter?"

"There's no detective!" Buffy shouted in order to silence her friends. Faith, obviously amused by the previous exchange between all of them, smiled at Buffy with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe you should have explained things first before mentioning the helicopter, B." Buffy sighed and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Right…" No sooner had Buffy began reciting the story that Angel had told her on the phone, did the bus begin to shake slightly. The sand of the gravel lot rose in the air and swirled around. All other noise was drowned out by the sound of helicopter propellers beating in the wind. Everyone looked out their windows to see one helicopter hovering overhead and preparing to land, while the other one followed in the distance. They watched as the chopper touched down to the ground. Not a second after its legs hit the earth did four men in swat like uniforms, minus the helmets, jump from the compartment and begin making their way towards the bus. Without a second thought Buffy stepped off the bus, her hair blowing wildly in the wind.

"Buffy Summers?"

A tall man with brown and grey speckled hair approached Buffy with what appeared to be his crew following close behind.

"Yes." Buffy stopped in front of the man and held out her hand, unsure of what else to do. He accepted her petite hand and gave it a quick shake.

"I'm Hunter Gray; Civilian Affairs, Wolfram and Hart."

Buffy nodded. "Hi. Thank you for doing this." Hunter merely nodded back and looked past Buffy, squinting in the sun.

"Is this everyone?" he asked. Buffy looked over her shoulder to see that her friends had joined her outside the bus.

"Um, there's more on the bus. Some of them are hurt pretty badly."

"Buffy!" The second helicopter had landed and they were now being approached by a familiar face: Wesley Wyndam-Price. Although he looked much different from the sissy English man that Buffy remembered. He was rugged looking, in an old maroon sweater with faded jeans. His face was unshaven and careworn.

"Wesley. Hi. It's good to see you." Buffy smiled.

"Likewise," Wesley gave a quick nod to everyone else in the group before looking back at Buffy. "Angel tells me you've just returned from a hell of a battle." Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You have no idea."

"How many injured?" Wesley was all work, no play. His firmness caught her off guard. It seemed to Buffy that nothing remained of the Wesley she once knew. Not that Wesley was ever much of a loose goose, but now there was a certain intensity about him.

"Well, there's only two or three that are serious…they're all on the bus still. The rest of us are just kind of banged up."

"Alright," Wesley ran his hands through his dark hair. "We'll take care of it. Hunter?" Hunter stepped up beside him.

"Sir?"

"Get the ones on the bus on stretchers. We shall take the wounded all in one chopper. The rest will fly with me in the larger unit. Let's get a move on."


	4. The Touch of Your Hand

Hunter and his boys ran to the bus, pushing four stretchers along with them. One by one, starting with Robin, they helped the injured off of the bus and onto them while the others watched.

"The rest of you will fly with me; come along."

There were thirteen of them, not including Wesley, but space didn't seem to be an issue. The helicopter was twice the size of the first and there was room for everyone. They all started piling on to the chopper. Buffy stepped forward to climb aboard, but Faith grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Wha-? Faith?"

"Where do you think you're goin' B?" Her tone was casual but concerned "You're hurt."

"Faith, I'm fine."

Wesley stuck his head out of the chopper and for the first time, noticed the large wound in Buffy's side. He hadn't realized that all that blood on her shirt was her own.

"Buffy, you may be a slayer, but a wound like that should be tended to immediately." Giles, who was standing next to Wesley, nodded in agreement.

"He's right Buffy. You should take the other helicopter. They can fix you up in no time, I'm sure." Buffy's jaw dropped.

"Giles, I'm fine. I don't need any- Ahh!" Faith poked Buffy ever so lightly in the side, causing her to buckle once more, and again Faith was there to catch her. "Ahh…God…what was that for?" she asked through clenched teeth. Faith looked at her and helped her to stand.

"Just proving a point."

Buffy closed her eyes and sighed. She knew Faith was right, but admitting weakness was never something she liked to do; another thing she and Faith had in common. "Fine," she said. She then turned to everyone on the helicopter. "I guess I'll see you guys there." Buffy started to head towards to other chopper but she stopped dead in her tracks and clutched her side in agony. _I feel so pathetic. _But to her surprise, a second later she felt an arm slide around her waist.

"Here…" It was Faith. She leaned forward and put Buffy's left arm around her neck. She then stood upright, supporting Buffy almost completely. "It's probably starting to get infected." Faith turned her head back to the others, who were watching in silence. "I'll stay with her," she shouted. "Make sure she gets fixed up." Wesley nodded and slid the helicopter door closed.

A determined Faith and a rather confused Buffy made their way over to the other chopper. Hunter had just finished lifting Rona onto the chopper; she was the last one.

"Wait!" Faith called out to him. "She's hurt too." She said, tossing her head in Buffy's direction.

Hunter nodded. "Alright, come on."

Faith helped Buffy into the chopper and then climbed in after her. It was a tight squeeze with four stretchers and four people. Buffy hissed in pain as Faith helped ease her down onto a stretcher cot that had been placed on the floor.

"You alright?" Faith asked as she took a seat next to the blonde slayer. Buffy nodded slightly. One of Hunter's men knelt in front of Buffy with a large first aide kit.

"Miss Summers, I'm Jeff. I'm gonna have to ask you to take that jacket off." he said, opening the kit and pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Buffy tried to lift her right arm to slide it out of her jacket, but the pain was too much.

"Here," Faith said. "Put your other arm behind your back."

Buffy took her left arm and stretched it out behind her. Faith then reached around behind Buffy and pulled the jacket from that arm; from there she brought it forward and was able to slide it off of Buffy's right arm without her feeling the slightest bit of discomfort.

"Alright, let's take a look." Jeff stuck out his hand and lifted Buffy's blouse up slightly, just enough to get a look at her injury. He squinted as he examined the wound. He had a confused look on his face. "This looks like an exit wound."

Faith, who had been holding Buffy's jacket, held it up to show a large slice in the back. "That's because it is." She shook the hair from her eyes. "The knife went in through the back."

Jeff asked Buffy to lean forward so he could take a look. "Dear God." He gasped. He couldn't believe that Buffy was still standing. He had to keep reminding himself that she was a slayer. "Uh, well. You'll need stitches. It doesn't look like any vitals have been punctured, so that's good. But for the time being we should clean the wound and wrap it."

They were all silent, not sure what to say.

"Okay…" Buffy wasn't sure what Jeff was waiting for.

"Yes, well…you'll have to remove your blouse." Buffy's face turned crimson red and Faith quickly looked away.

"Right." Buffy cleared her throat and began unbuttoning her shirt. When she was through she shifted uncomfortably. She couldn't get it off without hurting herself. "I…um, it…" Jeff was rummaging through his kit, pulling out gauze and bandages. He didn't even look up as he spoke.

"Could you help remove her blouse while I prepare?" he asked Faith.

"Umm…alright." Faith swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Buffy, who wouldn't meet her gaze. She just put her left arm behind her once more. Faith silently took the blouse from her arm and then slid it off of her right, more delicately then before, with trembling hands. Buffy sat still, exposed and uncomfortable in her black, lace, bra that somehow maintained its innocence. Her skin was lightly bruised and the area around her wound was stained a sickly shade of red. Faith couldn't help but stare; Buffy's body seemed so fragile. It seemed unlikely that she was capable of inflicting ever a quarter of the damage everyone knew she could.

Faith became aware that Buffy was uncomfortable with her staring, so she looked away and watched as another man in uniform worked on dressing the wounds of the others. Her eyes were focused, but her ears listened to everything going on next to her.

"I'm just going to clean the wound. It's already started to heal, but it's infected. I'm gonna have to open it up a bit to clean it properly." Jeff spoke slowly to Buffy as if she was simple. It pissed her off. She was feeling weak enough as it was, but she just nodded and closed her eyes as Jeff approached her skin with a small knife.

Faith stared straight ahead, yet unable to ignore whatever was going on next to her. From the corner of her eye she saw the glint of a small knife. She closed her eyes, trying not to imagine what was coming next. Suddenly, Buffy let out a wince and Faith felt a hand shoot out and grab her wrist. She looked down to see that Buffy's hand was clasped tightly around her forearm and was shaking slightly. Her eyes were closed but she seemed aware of what she was doing. Jeff was scratching at her wound with the small knife trying to open the tiny bit that had closed up.

"There." Jeff sighed and withdrew the knife. Buffy let out her own sigh of relief. Her hold on Faith's arm loosened but she didn't let go. Tears flowed from her eyes just like the fresh blood that was flowing from her side. Jeff began to clean the wound. Buffy's eyes snapped shut once more and she hissed in pain as the antiseptic washed the gravel and dried blood from her sore. Once again, her grip tightened on Faith's arm. Faith's eyes moved back and forth from Buffy's face to her arm, which Buffy had clasped firmly in her hand. Buffy winced again, and Faith's heart bled for her. She placed her own comforting hand on top of Buffy's. She felt Buffy's grip loosen and her muscles relax. Her touch was clearly calming her down, something Faith never thought was possible.


	5. The Welcoming Committee

When Jeff was done cleaning the wound, he asked Faith to help him wrap a bandage around Buffy's abdomen. She lifted her arms as best as she could while Faith and Jeff passed a roll or gauze back and forth, tightening it around Buffy. When they were done, Jeff packed away his medical supplies.

"That should do for now. You'll need stitches when we get there." He removed his now bloodstained rubber gloves and tossed them into a small waste bin. With one last smile, he stood up and went to check on Choa Anne's IV strand.

Without saying a word, Buffy began putting her blouse back on, starting with her bad arm; she was able to do it on her own now. Faith watched as Buffy quickly did up the buttons on her shirt, fumbling with every other one or so. When she was finished she looked at Faith and smiled weakly. Maybe it was to avoid awkwardness, or maybe she was just plain worn out, but Buffy closed her eyes and rested her head on the wall behind her.

_She's beat._ Faith stood up as quietly as she could, trying not to shift the cot and disturb Buffy. As she stood, she noticed that her left arm was stinging a bit. She glanced down at her forearm to find five tiny, little, half-moon shaped cuts. Buffy had squeezed her arm so tight that her nails had nearly broken skin. The indents threatened to bleed, but weren't quite deep enough. Faith ran her fingers along the puffy, red, skin. She didn't think Buffy had squeezed that hard; it certainly didn't seem so at the time.

"Thanks…"

Faith's thoughts were interrupted. She turned around and looked down at Buffy; her eyes were still closed, but there was no denying that she had just spoken.   
_So_ _Stubborn. _Faith smiled to herself. _You're welcome._

Robin Wood let out a faint grunt as he shifted uncomfortably on his stretcher. Faith tore her attention away from her arm and approached Wood's side.

"How you doin'?" she asked quietly.

Robin's eyes remained shut but a small smile crept across his lips.

"Been better. You?" he asked.

Faith nodded, mostly to herself. "Five by five."

She turned once more to check on Buffy, who had now given in to her weariness and was stretched out peacefully on the cot. Robin opened his eyes and looked at Faith. Her eyes were rested on Buffy.

"How is she?"

Faith jumped a bit and looked back at Robin with flushed cheeks.

"She's good. Tired. B's a tough chick, though; she'll be fine."

Robin's eyes were piercing her own, as if trying to read into her soul. He didn't seem convinced. Faith didn't like it one bit. She tore herself from his gaze and looked at the floor.

"I have no doubt that she's tough. I've seen her in action." Robin's tone was almost accusatory. "Why is it that you're the one who seems worried?"

"Hey," Faith laughed, holding up her hands in defense. "B can take care of herself. I know that just a little bit better than you do." Her voice lowered into a whisper. "I know she'll be fine, alright? But I'm not used to seeing her so… vulnerable." Faith sighed. "It's new ground for me."

Robin decided it was best to leave things at that. He thought he had Faith all figured out, but now he wasn't so sure.

"We're almost there."

Fifteen minutes later, Hunter came up behind Faith and tapped her on the shoulder. "You might wanna wake you're friend."

Faith nodded in thanks.

"It's alright. I'm awake."

Faith almost fell over. She turned around to see Buffy sitting upright. How long had she been awake? Had she even been sleeping at all?

"Buffy," Robin tried sitting up to get a look at her. "Where exactly are we going?"

Faith jumped in.

"L.A., right B?"

Buffy nodded. "Angel was offered a position as head of the L.A. headquarters of an evil law firm."

Robin's eyes darted back and forth. He wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Oh! But he's turning it around from the inside." Buffy finished. Robin looked back and forth from Faith to Buffy.

"You people really have no idea how weird your lives are, do you?" he asked.

Faith shrugged.

"I dunno. Vampires, blood, maiming, evil law firms; it all seems like an ordinary day in the life to me, right B?" Buffy smiled and folded her arms.

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

When the helicopter finally touched down in the back lot of Wolfram and Hart everyone was already there waiting; everyone except for Angel, who obviously couldn't come out to meet them due to the sun. They all gathered near the back doors and watched as Hunter and the other special ops guys wheeled Robin, Rona, Colleen, and Choa Anne off of the chopper.

"Well, well. It looks like you kids all arrived safely."

Everyone turned around to see a demon with bright green skin, gelled hair, horns on his forehead, and wearing a tacky yellow tuxedo approaching them. He had a cell phone in his hand and a bounce in his step. Behind him were Charles Gunn and Winifred Burkel, Angel's friends and co-workers. No one except Faith and Willow were familiar with these people. Willow smiled and came forward.

"Hey guys. Good to see you again."

"Willow, honey. How are ya?" Willow was caught off guard as the stylish green demon pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Uh, okay. A little tired." He let the red-head go and looked around at the group with his hands on his hips.

"Well I should think so. God, look at you guys. Y'all look like something straight out of Apocalypse Now."

No one was sure what to say. "Oops. I guess I should do introductions. I'm Lorne. This is Charles Gunn, and this is Winifred Burkel." Lorne pointed to the two behind him. "Faith and Willow, you're already acquainted with these two." Fred smiled sweetly and waved at Willow and Faith. Gunn just nodded. He and Faith hadn't gotten along very well last time they had met. Buffy smiled back at them.

"You all work with Angel?" she asked.

"Correcto mundo, compadres. The big guy's in his office right now." Lorne turned his attention to Hunter and the other men, who were waiting with the three girls and Robin on stretchers. "Hey Hurley!" he called out.

"It's Hunter." Hunter corrected him.

"Cute." Lorne clapped his hands together. "The infirmary is ready for these four, if you wanna take them in."

Hunter turned to his friends and motioned for them to start wheeling in their injured guests. Buffy opened her mouth as if to protest, but Wesley stepped up beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be fine. They're in good care." Buffy nodded and smiled.

"Westifer! There you are." Lorne exclaimed. "I'm supposed to tell you go see Anthony in your department. Apparently he accidentally rearranged the Codex while you were gone." Wesley sighed. "Things got mixed up pretty bad."

"Thank you, and please never call me that again." He turned to Buffy and the others. "I have to be going, but I'm sure I will see you all later." Wesley began to walk away when Buffy called out to him.

"Hey Wesley!"

Wesley turned on his heels and regarded Buffy, who smiled sweetly with gratitude.

"Thanks."

The former watcher nodded and blushed slightly before finally turning away and taking off through the back doors of the building.

"Poor guy," Lorne sighed. "Too high strung to take a compliment."

Just then, Lorne's cell phone began to ring. The ringer sounded like a sped up version of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow'. He flipped the phone open and brought it to his ear.

"Aloha?...Oh good, it's you Todd. I hope you have some good news for me."

Everyone stood there in uncomfortable silence as Lorne took his call.

"…Is that what you call good news? 'Cuz I'm not smilin' here, Todd….You know we need those karaoke machines by Thursday."

Vi looked at Dawn in confusion. "I thought this was a law firm?"

Dawn simply shrugged.

"Okay Todd…no…no…calm down, sugar pie. I'll be right there. Yes…yes I will! Quicker then you can say 'livin' la vida loca', alright? … I wasn't being literal, Todd….I know! I'm leaving right now! Okay? Okay, buh bye."

Lorne disconnected and stuck his phone in his inside breast pocket.

"Sorry kiddies, I gotta run. But Gunn and Fred here will take you to see the big guy."

Vi put her hand to ask a question as if she was still in school.

"Umm…can I ask, what exactly is it that you do here?"

Lorne came up to Vi and placed a scaly green hand on her shoulder.

"Honey, I've already booked Celine Dion for the company Christmas party. So I believe the real question is, what don't I do?"

With that, Lorne smiled and put on a pair of stylish sunglasses. "I'm off. Check you all later." The green demon ran off towards the parking lot without looking back. Everyone stood in silence until Willow took charge.

"So, now what?"

Gunn stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I guess we could give you guys the grand tour."

Fred bounced on her heels a bit. "Well, maybe not the GRAND, grand tour. That would take forever."

"Well," Giles stepped forward and cleared his throat. "I must admit that I am quite interested in how this entire, um… operation works exactly."

"Wait a second," Buffy intervened. "I thought you were gonna take us to see Angel?"

Gunn shrugged again. "It's cool. It's on the way. C'mon." He signaled for everyone to follow him through the back doors. Fred hung back and walked along with Willow, much to Kennedy's disliking.


	6. The NotSoWelcoming Committee

Gunn led them down a series of empty corridors until finally they reached a set of double doors.

"Welcome to Evil Incorporated." He smiled then pushed the big metal doors open. They were in the main lobby. It was bustling with activity of the widest range. People and demons alike were running about in business suits, carrying briefcases and talking on cell phones. There were reception desks spread all throughout the room, and even the odd coffee stand.

Buffy and her friends were huddled into a small group, looking around in amazement and taking in the scene.

"It's a bit overwhelming at first, isn't it?" Fred asked Willow with a sweet smile. Willow's mouth was ajar and she nodded in response.

Xander gazed around in bewilderment.

"Is it just me, or does this seem like the last place Angel would fit in?"

Just then, a demon with a large horn right in the middle of her forehead walked by. Xander looked taken aback. "Then again…"

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

A female voice came from behind Xander, causing him to jump a little. Everyone turned to see where the voice had come from. A young blonde, not much bigger than Buffy, was standing with a smirk on her face. Her eyes were big but squinty. Gunn let out a heavy sigh. He didn't seem too happy to see this girl. Buffy soon noticed that the blonde was staring at her, her eyes moving quickly up and down the slayer's body. Not checking her out, but sizing her up. Or so it seemed.

Faith came up beside Buffy with her arms folded. "Who're you?"

The little blonde's eyes shifted to Faith and soon she was sizing her up as well. Her smirk grew wider and she raised an eyebrow.

"You must be the slayers. I've heard quite a bit about you two." Once more she regarded Faith. "And I'm willing to bet that you're Faith. Am I right?"

Who was this girl? Her attitude was getting on Buffy's nerves, and she hadn't even really said anything yet. But the tone in her voice and the look on her face spoke volumes. Buffy glared back at the young woman.

"Faith asked you a question. Who are you?"

Gunn rolled his eyes and pushed his way over to the confrontation. He couldn't believe it; Eve had literally been there a minute and a half and already she had managed to cause trouble.

"What do you want, Eve?" Gunn placed himself between Eve and the slayers. He turned to Buffy. "You'll have to excuse her. We aren't quite sure what purpose Eve serves yet, other than being a royal pain in the ass. But we're looking into it."

"Ouch." Eve pretended to look hurt. "Bee in your bonnet, Charles?"

"Not at all." He replied, "Just a really snooty blonde chick who gets off on buggin' the hell out of everyone unfortunate enough to cross her path."

Buffy tapped Gunn on the shoulder.

"Sorry to interrupt, but can we please get to the point?" She looked at Eve with curiosity.

"I'm here to take Buffy to see Angel. He's in his office waiting for you now." Eve signaled for Buffy to follow her, and then regarded Gunn. "Charles, you and Winifred can take the rest of the group on a little tour, and show them to their rooms afterwards."

Gunn clenched his jaw. He didn't like taking orders from Eve at all.

"Whatever. Let's go folks."

Everyone began to follow somewhat reluctantly, peering back at Buffy. Fred called back to the blonde.

"We'll catch up with you later."

Buffy's eyes met Xander, Willow, and Dawn's gazes. She nodded and smiled and they went their separate ways, except for Faith who began to follow after Buffy and Eve. But Eve noticed and quickly came to a halt and turned around.

"Uh, the boss asked to speak with Buffy. No one else." She flashed the most fake smile. The old Faith would never let anyone speak to her like that. But the new, reformed Faith kept her composure. To be honest, she hadn't even really realized that she was following the older slayer. It just kind of happened.

Faith nodded.

"Right. Sorry." She turned on her heel and began to walk away with her hands buried deep in her jean pockets.

Buffy couldn't help but feel sympathetic. The last thing Faith needed was to be pushed away or to feel left out. She would never forget what happened the last time that happened.

"Faith!" Buffy ran after Faith and grabbed her by the arm. The brunette slayer was pulled to a halt. Buffy looked down at her hand which was wrapped around Faith's wrist and quickly let go.

Faith pretended not to notice. She also pretended not to be hurt.

"What?" There was the slightest hint of bitterness in her tone. Buffy was taken aback.

"Uh, well we probably won't be long. You could wait here if you want; we could go have a look around when I'm done talking with Angel."

Faith's anger faded a bit. At least Buffy was making an effort. But in doing so she had made Faith feel weak and vulnerable.

"No. Don't worry about it, B," Faith shrugged. "I'll go catch up with the others; maybe go see how Wood's doing. Give the big guy an extra squeeze for me, alright?"

Before Buffy could say anything Faith was off, making her way through the crowded room to go and join the rest of their group. Buffy turned back to Eve who was standing with her arms crossed and her eyebrow raised.

"She's spunky."

"She's Faith." Buffy came up beside Eve and they continued walking. They soon reached an open stair case and began to ascend.

"Hopefully she didn't take what I said to heart. From what I hear she might turn homicidal and start killing people."

Buffy stopped dead in the middle of the stairs. She reached out angrily and grabbed Eve by the wrist, squeezing tightly.

"That's not funny."

Eve winced as she tried to release herself from Buffy's firm grasp. "Jesus! It was just a joke."

Buffy squeezed a little tighter.

"Yeah? And did you hear the part where I said that it wasn't funny?"

"Let her go, Buffy."

The two girls looked up to see Angel standing at the top of the stairs and hesitantly, Buffy released Eve's arm. Eve clenched her teeth as she rubbed her forearm which was red with the slayer's handprint.

"Angelus, call off your slayer before she does something she'll sorely regret."

Buffy was about to challenge Eve's statement but Angel gave her a look that said it wasn't worth it.

"I'll take it from here, Eve. Come on Buffy."

As Buffy passed Eve on the stairs they exchanged hateful glances, but the blonde slayer continued up the stairs and followed Angel into the first office on the right.


	7. The Downside of Victory

The room was rather large and not to mention brightly lit. The window curtains were drawn wide open, yet the sunlight didn't seem to be hurting Angel. Buffy was confused. Was Angel human again? Why hadn't he mentioned it on the phone?

"Angel…the sun…you're…"

"Magic windows," Angel replied. He walked up to the wide windows with his hands in his pockets and looked out over the world he could never be a part of, at least not during the day. Buffy was sorry she had said anything. Clearly these windows, despite giving Angel a taste of normalcy, were very taunting. A reminder of what he could never have.

Buffy gazed around Angel's office. There was a brown leather sofa, filing cabinets, and a large mahogany desk with a weapons display on the wall behind it. Buffy examined the weapons with interest and wonder. They looked powerful but seemed almost too beautifully made to be used in combat.

"I'm glad you're okay. I knew you'd make it."

Buffy came and joined Angel at the window. He was watching her with loving eyes. She smiled at him.

"I couldn't have done it without you."

Angel furrowed his brow. He didn't understand.

"The amulet," Buffy continued. "Whatever it was, wherever you got it… it did the trick. In fact, it's the only reason we won."

Buffy gazed out the window with a heavy heart. Their victory had not been without its losses; Angel could tell.

"Who didn't make it?" he asked.

Buffy closed her eyes in painful memory.

"A lot of the girls," Buffy's eyes began to tear. "Amanda…she was a, uh friend of Dawn's…from school. She was really strong; one of the strongest. We were all really fond of her." Buffy's face was now streaked with tears. She looked up at Angel. "And Anya," she took a deep breath. "We lost Anya."

Angel felt his lifeless heart sink into the pit of his stomach.

"Damn it. Buffy, I'm…" he pulled his ex-lover into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry."

Buffy rested her head on Angel's chest and let her tears fall freely on to his sweatshirt. After everything she had just been through she longed to be held, and took comfort in Angel's loving arms.

Faith had gotten lost in the crowd trying to find the rest of her would-be friends. Within minutes she decided it was best to suck up her pride and go back and wait for Buffy. In the distance she saw Buffy follow Angel into a large office at the top of a staircase. She also spotted Eve standing in the middle of the stairs brandishing an extremely pissed off look on her face. She waited for Eve to go up the stairs and into a different office before finally approaching the area. Faith stood for several minutes at the bottom of the staircase but she soon noticed that something wasn't right. As the crowd in the lobby continued to pass around her she realized that a lot of the workers, human and demon alike were looking at her. Shooting glances and her and whispering to their associate friends. Some of them were looking at Faith as though she were a bomb that might go off at any given moment. She soon began to hear fragments of sentences being whispered back and forth.

"…slayer…dark slayer…the lost slayer…murderer…evil…coma…killer…broke out of jail…tried to kill Angel…betrayed the Summers girl…jealous…"

Faith shook her head.

"Screw this."

She pushed the whispers out of her mind and darted up the stairs towards Angel's office. Anything that Buffy and Angel had to say to each other didn't have to be too private. Their love was doomed for all of eternity, so the way Faith saw it was that anything they had to discuss would be strictly shop talk. And that's something Faith felt she had every right to be a part of.

Faith reached the office door. There was a small silver plaque under the small window on the door that read 'Angel, CEO'. The brown-eyed slayer smirked at this for a moment, but her attention was quickly drawn to what was going on within the office. Faith peered in through the window. Angel had Buffy in a tight embrace; it looked like the little slayer had been crying but was now resting peacefully in Angel's strong arms. Faith felt her throat tighten. She wasn't sure what she was feeling but she knew she couldn't stick around and watch any longer. Slowly backing away from the door, Faith jumped when she heard a voice beside her.

"Bothers you, doesn't it?"

It was Eve; she was standing there with a disgusting smirk across her lips. She had caught Faith completely off guard.

"What?" she asked, sounding a lot more confused than she really was. Eve edged herself closer to Faith.

"The two of them…together," she came closer so that she was almost whispering in Faith's ear. "Really gets your goat, doesn't it?"

Faith stood her ground but refused to look Eve in the eye.

"It's not like that," Faith replied through clenched teeth. Eve got even closer still and rested her chin on the young slayer's shoulder. There she smiled and whispered.

"Liar,"

Immediately Faith lashed out; growling slightly, she roughly pushed Eve away from her.

"Ooh," Eve cooed as she stumbled backwards and caught her balance. "I strike a nerve."

Faith's hands were curled into fists and she was breathing heavily in anger. But she tried to keep her cool and not cause any commotion.

"You're wrong," she struggled to keep her voice down. "Do _not_ make the mistake of thinking that you know anything about me."

It disturbed Faith to see that Eve was still smiling, and was once again approaching her.

"Or what," Eve lowered her voice once more. "You'll kill me?"

Faith didn't say a word. Killing Eve would have been easy; plus, Faith figured she'd be doing everyone a favor. But that's not who she was. Not anymore.

"You could kill me," Eve continued. "And prove everyone right. You feel it, don't you? Everyone watching…waiting for you to slip up. You're a killer, Faith. You'll always be a killer. Everybody knows it. Buffy knows it."

Faith was mortified; nobody had ever laid it all out in front of her before. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. All she could do was listen.

"See Faith, the difference between you and Angel is that he became a killer because he lost his soul." Eve was no longer smiling. "What's your excuse?"

Faith was trying hard not to break down. She didn't have an excuse, and it pained her to admit it. She raised her head and looked once more into Angel's office, where Buffy was still being held tightly by her ex-lover.

Faith knew that redemption wouldn't be easy, but she felt like she was making good progress.

_I'm trying. Can't they see that I'm trying?_

Faith refused to believe that Buffy, that anyone for that matter, couldn't see that she was doing her best to make the right changes. Suddenly she felt a twinge of determination. If they couldn't see, she'd make them see.

_To hell with this bitch, _she though.

Faith turned away from the door and stared Eve straight in the eye.

"I don't have an excuse for any of the things I've done. I messed up. I made some bad choices. I did some things that I'm not proud of. But I'm going to make things right between me and the people I've hurt."

Faith turned from Eve and began off down the hall.

Eve rolled her eyes and called out after her, "Redemption isn't easy, you know. It's gonna take a lot more than an apology to undo all the damage that you've done."

Faith stared straight ahead and kept right on walking. Her head held high, she whispered to herself,

"Whatever it takes…"


	8. Drifting Away

Buffy opened her eyes. She glanced towards the office door, thinking she had heard some sort of commotion on the other side, but no one was there that she could see. That's when Buffy realized that she was still wrapped in Angel's arms. And as comforting as being held was to Buffy at the moment, she couldn't help but feel like she was using him. Buffy would always love Angel, but they had no possible future together. Knowing this hard fact sometimes took the romance out of their meetings, and Buffy did not want to dwell on it anymore. _I am cookie dough._ She had given her former lover the cookie dough spiel less than seventy-two hours ago.

"_I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be,"_

Suddenly it dawned on the slayer that by repeatedly coming back to Angel's arms, a place she knew to be a dead end, she was ignoring her own analogy. Breaking her own rules. _I keep turning the oven off. How am I supposed to finish baking if I keep turning the oven off? The right person could be waiting for me to finish baking and I'd never know it._

Buffy sighed and pulled away from Angel, slowly as not to appear obvious.

"Thank you," she said, looking into his dark, loving eyes. "For everything you've done."

Angel didn't look convinced; he looked hurt and resigned. Buffy furrowed her brow, "What's wrong?"

Angel returned his gaze out the window. "You said the amulet is the only reason you won the battle?" Buffy nodded, still confused. "And I told you that the amulet could only be worn by a true champion." The young slayer now could see were this conversation was headed. Buffy rolled her eyes and turned her back to Angel, who kept prodding.

"A true champion of the people…but someone more than human,"

"Angel…"

"With a soul,"

"Angel, don't do this…"

"That rules you out, Buffy."

Buffy let her hands fall to her sides and she shrugged.

"What do you want me to say, Angel?" Angel could only look at his shoes. "It may not be what you want to hear, but Spike saved us all from being sucked into the hellmouth." Angel rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he'll never let me hear that end of that."

Buffy resisted the urge to smack him.

"Yeah, well you won't have to worry about that."

"What do you mean?"

"Does the term 'self-sacrifice' mean anything to you?"

Angel didn't know what to say. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear that. "Buffy…I'm sorry."

Buffy's lip was trembling, but she spoke with defiance.

"I'm not."

Angel stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I just meant…well…you said he was in your heart."

"I did," Buffy replied. "And he is. But Spike loved me in a way I could never return. And in the end, I think he finally realized that." The young slayer sighed and ran her fingers through her gritty hair. She was definitely looking forward to a nice shower, and now seemed as good a time as any.

Exhausted, she made her way to the office door.

"Anyway, thanks again for everything, Angel."

"Wait…Buffy," Angel followed after her and grabbed her arm, holding her back.

"Angel, please?" Buffy turned and faced him. "I'm tired. I'm dirty. I really don't feel like having this discussion right now."

"I know," Angel let go of her arm. "I was just gonna remind you to go to the infirmary; blood's starting to soak through that bandage." Buffy glanced down at her stomach. There was fresh crimson liquid overlapping the dried blood stains.

"Oh," Buffy felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry." Angel shook his head in a way that told Buffy she was already forgiven.

"Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?" Angel suggested. But Buffy shook her head. She wanted to avoid anymore awkward alone time with Angel at this point.

"No. That's alright," Buffy replied, edging towards the door. "I'll just follow the signs. Thanks again. I guess I'll see you in a bit." And with that Buffy finally left the office, closing the door behind her.

Angel closed his eyes as he felt Buffy's presence slowly drift away from him. Something told the vampire that things between he and the slayer who once held his heart would never be the same.


	9. Labyrinth

Faith had absolutely no idea where she was going. Even if Eve was gone now, she couldn't go back to Angel's office. She had been wandering aimlessly for ten minutes or so and she tried hard to convince herself that she wouldn't be able to find her way back even if she wanted to. Her head was swimming in a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions. Eve's words were crawling under her skin. She hated it. She hated Eve. No, she hated Buffy. Maybe Eve was right; maybe Buffy was just waiting for her to screw things up. Waiting for the right moment to finally finish what they had started four years ago. Faith stopped in the corridor and shook her head. What was she thinking? _No. Things are different now. I'm different now._ She couldn't hurt Buffy anymore, not even if she tried. Unsure of where it was she was trying to get to, Faith continued on through the halls.

The pain in Buffy's side was starting to intensify. Her head was throbbing as her brain constantly kept telling her body that it needed rest. She probably should have let Angel take her to the infirmary himself, but she didn't want to see Angel anymore than she had to at the moment. The directories were all a blur as Buffy passed them; she could only hope that she was getting somewhat closer to where she was trying to get to.

_This place is a Goddamn labyrinth…_

Faith didn't even know what she was doing anymore. Where was she going? In actuality, she had stopped reading the directories a long time ago. She was more or less picking doors, taking stairs and turning down random hallways without any consideration as to where she was headed.

At the moment she was in a rather tranquil corridor and ahead of her stood a set of steel double doors. Nowhere else to go, she pressed her body against the door and pushed it open.

"God Damn it!"

Faith had somehow managed to navigate herself back into the main lobby. At least it looked like the main lobby. Something was different. Specifically, the front doors and windows were missing. Looking around she noticed a sign that stated that this was in fact

The 'Financial District Lobby', whatever the hell that meant.

_Great…this building has 'districts'. _

The door Faith had taken into the lobby was located high above the crowd on a catwalk of offices similar to the ones in the main lobby. Since she had no idea where she was or how she had got there, Faith decided that she was fighting a losing battle. She would wait where she was until she got her bearings, or sadly, until someone found her.

_This is definitely not the Infirmary. _

Buffy was standing in a sea of people in a room that looked somewhat like the main lobby. Her blouse was beginning to cling to her skin as blood continued to seep though her bandage. Her arms and legs began to grow heavy and she could hear the sound of her own blood pumping in her ears.

"Miss, are you alright?"

An older man with a grey business suit stopped in front of Buffy and was trying to get a good look at her but she wouldn't meet his gaze. Her eye lids were beginning to flutter and her eyes were starting to roll into the back of her head.

"I'm…"

"Miss?"

Suddenly Buffy's knees buckled and she flopped to the floor, barely conscious. Every one around her gasped and one woman even screamed a little.

Faith's attention was suddenly drawn to the crowd below when she heard a small shriek. Looking over the railing she saw that many people were gathered around someone who was lying in heap on the floor; a tiny person…a tiny _blonde_ person.

'_Oh shit…' _

"Buffy!"

The people surrounding the fallen slayer looked up just in time to scurry out of the way, for Faith had leapt over the catwalk railing and was falling to the ground below. She landed hard on her feet about a meter away from Buffy. Although slightly shaken from the impact, she ignored it and ran to Buffy, falling to her knees at her side. "Buffy! Hey, Buffy!" Faith lifted Buffy's listless head and rested it in her lap. "Come on, B."

As Faith brushed a few strands of blonde hair away from Buffy's face the slayer began to stir. Her eyelids lifted slowly and she looked up at the blurry figure hovering over her.

"…Faith?"

Faith felt the corners of her lips turn up slightly. "Yeah B, it's me."


	10. Awakenings

"I died, you know. Did I tell you that?"

"Only every time we do this."

"I guess that's a no, then." Buffy smiled and sat down on the bed next to Faith.

They were back in Buffy's old bedroom at 1630 Revello Drive. Exactly the way it had been four years ago. The eggshell white and green stripped walls with the matching bed set and curtains, clothes thrown over the desk chair, framed photos on the bedside table; it was all there.

Buffy frowned. "Maybe we should sit on the floor. Didn't we just make this bed?"

Faith chuckled and let herself flop back on to the bed. Resting her hands on her stomach, she sighed. "Do you really think that matters anymore, B? This place is long gone by now."

Buffy stared down at her hands in her lap, and as if she hadn't even heard Faith she continued. "I don't know why I never told you. Maybe I don't want you to feel cheated."

"A little late for that, but thanks for the concern," Faith huffed. "Besides, that's not why we're here."

Buffy flopped down next to Faith, but simply stared up at the ceiling. "Why are we here? Why do we always do this?"

"Well, technically I'm not really here. I'm only here because of you. You're the one that always does this, B." Faith propped her head up and looked at Buffy, who gazed back with a furrowed brow. "You're asking yourself all the wrong questions. You're avoiding the issue. Haven't you ever wondered why I'm here?"

Buffy quickly tore her eyes from Faith and sat up once more.

"I died, you know. Did I tell you that?"

Faith groaned and leapt off of the bed.

"Ugh, see? You're doing it again. It's not that your stupid, Buffy. You're just stubborn, maybe even blissfully ignorant."

"I guess that's a no, then." Buffy continued. She was just going through the motions now.

"I think it's time for you to wake up," Faith said as she folded her arms across her chest. Buffy looked over to where her bedroom door should have been, but there was nothing there but the bear wall.

"I don't think I can leave." Buffy regarded the missing door.

"Sure you can," Faith walked slowly up to Buffy, who sat looking up at her with awkward uncertainty. She knelt down in front of the blonde slayer and gave her a sad smile. "You always do." Buffy didn't blink an eye, didn't even so much as flinch as Faith reached out and gently touched her right cheek.

A flash of light and Buffy's eyes shot open. She let out a soft groan and brought her hands to her face, momentarily blinded by a sudden throbbing pain in her head.

"You're awake!" spoke a familiar voice. "How do you feel, Buffy?"


	11. Wrongfully Accused

Buffy squinted at the figure sitting next to her bed. Even the dimly lit infirmary room was hard on her eyes; she couldn't quite make out who was there.

"Faith?"

"Not quite," said the voice. As Buffy's eyes began to go into focus, she could make out the outline of her sister. "I'll pretend to not be insulted by that."

Buffy smiled, "Dawn," her eyes were now in focus, but still sensitive to the light. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost a full day now," her sister replied. "The doctors were getting worried, but I figured you were just worn out from the battle. I'm actually surprised that you didn't sleep longer."

Buffy made an attempt to sit up in her bed, but immediately thought better of it. The quick movement caused more pain in her head than it did her freshly stitched-up side.

"You okay?" asked Dawn.

"Yeah," Buffy said, placing her hand on her forehead. "My head feels kind of funny."

Dawn began to recount all the events that had taken place while her sister was in recovery. Wolfram and Hart had provided everyone with sleeping accommodations; Dawn was sharing a room with Vi, who was spending most of her time in the infirmary watching over Rona and the other girls. Buffy was supposed to be sharing a room with Xander, Willow with Kennedy (obviously), and Faith with Robin, who was now up and about. This left poor Giles with Andrew, an arrangement to which everyone was guilty of having found amusing.

As Buffy listened to her sister regale in telling her all about the exciting world of Wolfram and Hart ("They have four swimming pools!"), she could not prevent herself from asking the question which she was guiltily longing to ask for reasons she could no longer explain.

"Buffy?"

"Huh?" Buffy had sort of stopped listening to Dawn, who was now staring at her sister.

"I said that they gave Xander a glass eye," she paused, eyeing her sister. "…And _then_ I said 'isn't that great?',"

"Oh," Buffy blinked a few times. "Yeah, that's… that's awesome."

"Are you sure you're okay, Buffy?" Dawn motioned to stand up. "I could go call for a doctor and --"

"Where's Faith?" she blurted without even thinking. Dawn glanced back and forth from her sister to the door, unsure of whether or not to get the doctor. Buffy rolled her eyes, "Dawn, I'm fine. I promise." She grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her back down into her chair, "I just… where's Faith?"

Dawn sighed, still uncertain as to why Buffy was behaving so strangely.

"We've stopped her from coming in to see you. Wesley found you unconscious, and she was there and…" Buffy sat up, her headache and dizziness seemed to have subsided. "…We just kind of assumed…"

"You just assumed she had something to do with it?"

"Well, Wesley didn't think so. But we weren't sure; I mean, nobody really knew what happened."

"Faith found me," Buffy said, somewhat irritated. "She tried to help me. That's what happened. Didn't she tell you that?"

"Actually," Dawn replied and shrugged. "She didn't really say anything."

Buffy felt sick to her stomach; why hadn't Faith told them what had really happened? It didn't make sense. She was resisting the urge to rip the IV out of her arm, get out of her bed and go find her. She wanted to apologize on behalf of her friends. Who knew what accusations they had thrown in Faith's face? And to stand there and take it didn't sound at all like her.

Dawn had continued to go into detail about what she had seen on her tour of the building, but once again Buffy found herself just barely listening enough to respond. She nodded, smiled, and laughed at the appropriate intervals, but she really wasn't paying attention. Her slayer ability to heal and regain strength quickly had long since taken effect. She was now feeling as though she could jump out of the bed and run laps around the entire building. But Dawn wouldn't have it. She was convinced that Buffy still needed to rest, and when Dawn finally left the room to retire to her own bed, Buffy had her believing that she was going to do just that. When in truth, she had other plans.


	12. The Things We Do That Can't Be Undone

The clock on the wall across the room read 11:32. Buffy had waited a half an hour after Dawn left before finally violently throwing the covers off of her. The heat escaped and the cool air caused the small hairs on Buffy's exposed legs to stand on ends. She welcomed the feeling after being trapped in a sweaty pocket of heat for nearly twenty-four hours.

Sitting up, she looked around the room. There was a bouquet of white roses lying on the table beside her bed; a small card attached showed they were from Angel. Buffy sighed, unsure of how to feel about this loving gesture. She let her eyes continue to wander; a chair on the opposite side of her bed held a folded pair of grey track pants and a plain white t-shirt, as well as a fresh pair of socks and new running shoes. That solved the clothing issue. After carefully pulling the IV needle out of her arm, Buffy got out of bed and began to get dressed.

The halls of the infirmary were dead quiet, save for the squeaking of Buffy's new shoes on the waxy, linoleum floor. It wasn't until she left the infirmary that she found any signs of life.

Wolfram and Hart was still a busy place at night, but it was nothing compared to what Buffy had seen when she first arrived; she was able to move quite freely through corridors and lobbies without bumping into people or demons. The remaining bustle however, did provide for excellent cover. She had already seen Fred and at one point, even Giles. But they didn't see Buffy who, being a rather small person was still hard to spot in even the small crowd. But she didn't feel like letting them see her just yet; they would only want her to go back to the infirmary. And besides, it wasn't them she was looking for.

She was no longer in control; each step Buffy took felt predetermined. She was being pulled forward and guided by an all too familiar force. It would eventually bring her to her desired destination. Where that was, she had no clue, but she'd know when she got there because she would find Faith.

Buffy came to an elevator, and on the wall beside its steel doors was a directory. She eyed it carefully; she knew she had to take the lift, but where to? Only one place stood out: Gym/Training Facilities, B2. Buffy smirked and pushed the elevator button; a moment later the doors slid open and she stepped inside.

The wall was lined with buttons which provided access to almost every floor in the building. Buffy noticed as she pushed the button labeled B2, that there were in fact twelve basement levels in all. A sign on the wall stated that access to B levels seven through twelve was prohibited to anyone without proper authority or identification. She could only wonder what kind of things Wolfram and Hart had hiding on those floors. In her experience with underground operations, Buffy figured she was better off not knowing.

After a few long minutes of impatience and bad elevator music, the lift finally stopped. Buffy took a deep breath as the doors reopened and she stepped out on to the floor.

Buffy wasn't sure what she was expecting; the gym looked a lot like the fitness center she used to attend back in Sunnydale, except a lot larger. The walls were lined with mirrors, cardio machines and weights. At the very rear of the gym there was a large pair of swinging doors from which even at a distance, a faint grunting could be heard within. Grunts of determination followed by the sound of pounding leather echoed across the walls, relentless and full of fury. A style that Buffy knew belonged to the rogue slayer, and sure enough as she pushed past the flapping doors and into the next room, there was Faith; her back to the door, working an old Everlast bag. Buffy stood and watched her for a moment in silence, unannounced while Faith sent the red bag swinging back and forth, side to side as she bombarded its leather hide with a series of violent jabs, hooks and the occasional kick.

Though she said nothing, Faith knew that Buffy was there. She had felt her presence the moment she had stepped off the elevator. And now she could feel Buffy's eyes on her, watching her every move, unable to speak.

"Looks like you're feeling better," Faith said, throwing one last tired punch before turning around to see the startled look on Buffy's face. "You gave the Scoobies quite a scare." She wiped the small of her arm across her sweaty brow then began to unravel the tensor bandages around her wrists. She walked past Buffy and over to one of the benches along the wall, avoiding eye contact or any sign that she too had been worried.

Buffy felt herself surprisingly hurt by Faith's lack of concern; it wasn't so much that Faith didn't care. Recalling the incident, it was obvious that Faith had been worried. What bothered Buffy was that she was now denying it. But then she remembered what Dawn had told her; it was no wonder Faith was feeling bitter.

Buffy went and stood in front of her with folded arms.

"Why did you do it?" She asked.

Faith looked up, rubbing the back of her neck. "What?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Faith. So why did you let them accuse you? They hounded you and you just stood there and took it? That doesn't sound like you."

"Really," Faith tilted her head to the side. Suddenly she began to think about what Eve had said about Buffy expecting her to screw up. "What _does_ sound like me?" she asked, irritated. "Crack some jaws and then have them haul me away kicking and screaming?" She stood up and pushed past Buffy, who looked hurt.

"That's not what I meant," Buffy replied. "I wouldn't…" She hesitated and looked away.

Faith grimaced; she was letting Eve's words poison her. _This isn't Buffy's fault, _she thought.

"I know," Faith sighed. "I'm…sorry. But even if I had told them that I had nothing to do with it, do you really think they would have believed me?"

"But my passing out had nothing to do with you! That's stupid!" Buffy began to raise her voice.

"Exactly," Faith replied. "You'd think they would know that. And I'm willing to bet that they did. Consider it my test for them." Buffy was giving her a blank look, unsure of what Faith was getting at. "Truth is, B, your friends like having me to blame," she shrugged. "I just figured… why spoil their fun?"

Buffy stood staring at the floor; she reckoned that Faith was probably right. There wasn't much she could say or do to defend her friends in this instance.

But Faith was beginning to wish that Buffy would tell her she was wrong. She was also beginning to wish she had of just told them what really happened. Her choice of actions certainly weren't helping her prove to everyone that she had changed. She had kept her mouth shut out of spite, and now she was angry with them for resenting her. But she had brought about that spite herself. The others were starting to bury their hateful feelings for Faith, but she had helped them dig those feelings back up again. Now she was reminded that to them she was practically a lost cause. And once again she turned her anger with herself towards everyone else.

"I mean, why bother right?" Faith continued, her voice now filled with annoyance. "They have no reason to trust me. I'm a killer! It's not like I helped avert the apocalypse, right?" Faith was inching closer to Buffy, whose eyes were now locked on her own; her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

Faith's anger was rising, and a voice in the back of her mind was begging her to stop, before things got out of control; but she kept going.

"Just like I didn't fight by your side back there? I was just an extra pawn in a cage, waiting to be let out and used in the fight; just another possible casualty of war, another expendable loss!"

"Faith, back off." Buffy warned. Things had already gotten out of control, but it was in a way that neither of them could have expected.

Faith was now inches away from Buffy, their gazes locked.

"I don't deserve their trust," she said, her voice now calm and composed. "And I especially don't deserve yours…" Faith smiled a little. Her tone no longer reeked of sarcasm. Her grin was somewhat frightening to Buffy; it was peaceful with a hint of admiration, and whether or not it was a trick of the light, she could have sworn she saw what looked like tears in Faith's eyes.

Her eyes still locked on Faith's, Buffy swallowed hard. "I trust you, Faith," She said softly.

"I know," Faith replied, being brought back to that moment in the final battle when Buffy had handed the scythe over to her without hesitation, mending a longtime damaged bridge of trust between them. Placing that weapon in Faith's hands had been the ultimate sign of renewed trust. It wasn't forgiveness, but it was a sign to Faith that she was one step closer to making amends.

Faith's heart was beating inexplicably fast; the pumping so loud in her ears that she wouldn't have been surprised if Buffy could hear it too. The air around them was as thick with tension as it was silence. Neither of them spoke a word or broke eye contact, but Faith felt herself beginning to lose control. Her mind had almost completely shut down; she was now acting more on whim than will, or at least that's what she was telling herself as she began to move forward. Soon, before either of them had time to realize what was happening, the space between them had almost closed completely. Faith swallowed and leaned forward, letting her trembling lips graze Buffy's. When she saw that Buffy wasn't recoiling, or even reacting for that matter, she allowed herself full contact. Bringing a hand up under her chin, Faith kissed Buffy softly and sweetly on the lips.

Confused at first, Buffy stood absolutely still as Faith made her advance. When their lips met she did not withdraw like she would have expected. There was tenderness to this kiss… warmth; an indescribable feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time. It scared her more than anything, but she couldn't help but find it welcoming all the same.

Buffy had seen Faith kiss other people before; Angel was one among countless, nameless faces that she had seen Faith collide with during nightly romps at The Bronze. But she had never seen her kiss any of them they way she was being kissed. There was a certain gentleness and passiveness that Buffy never thought Faith was capable of.

No sooner had Buffy closed her eyes, submitting herself to the moment had Faith's own eyes shot open and she at once became fully aware of what she had done. She quickly pulled away, her cheeks flushed and pink.

"Sorry," She said immediately."Sorry," she repeated. "That was - …" Faith didn't know what to say. She was expecting Buffy to lose it on her at any second. But all she did was stand there, staring back at Faith in disbelief. Her eyebrows were furrowed with confusion. Her head was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. She soon became overwhelmed by a tingling sensation that sent shivers all down her spine and raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Even she wasn't prepared for what she was about to do.

"That was wrong," Faith stammered. "I shouldn't have-"

Before she could finish, Buffy threw herself forward and taking Faith's head in her hands, kissed her in a way that she would have expected more from Faith than herself. The collision was shocking for the both of them; their teeth knocked together, rattling their bones before Buffy freely welcomed herself into Faith's mouth.

Faith had been too diffident in her kiss to even attempt at parting Buffy's lips for their tongues to meet, but it seemed like the blonde slayer was far less timid, and Faith wasn't going to argue.

Compared to the first kiss, this one was a fury of passion and unresolved issues. But it ended almost as quickly as it began. Buffy soon became frightened of herself and everything that was happening; she pushed Faith away somewhat aggressively, sending her stumbling backwards.

They stood staring at each other, gasping for air. Buffy started shaking her head; her eyes began to water.

"N-No…" She choked. Faith wasn't sure if she was speaking to her, or to her inner self. But as Faith made a move to confront Buffy, she was met with a violent backhand to the right side of her face.

Caught off guard, she was knocked to the floor.

"What?" Rubbing her right cheek, Faith looked up just in time to see Buffy dart out of the training room, through the fitness centre, and straight towards the elevator. Faith jumped to her feet to follow after, but it was too late. Their eyes met one last time as the elevator doors slid shut, cutting them off.

Faith let out a sigh as the lit up numbers above the elevator door began their decent.


	13. Invisible Men

**Author's Note**

Hello devoted fanfic readers. I do hope that you've enjoyed the story so far. Unfortunately the coming chapters won't be posted as quickly, as I am still in the process of writing them. Hopefully you'll choose to continue reading 'Finishing What We Started' as I continue to write it.

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"Oh man, Alec, you gotta take a look at this."

"Hmm," Alec had begun to doze off, but now his partner Sam was elbowing him in the ribs. "God dammit, what the hell is it-- "

As he sat up he saw what Sam was gawking at. On one of the monitors, specifically the one filming the training area and weight room, were two girls; a blonde and a brunette, and the brunette was leaning in to kiss the blonde. As Alec inched closer to the screen Sam hit a few buttons; the camera zoomed in on the action.

"Remember when we first became surveillance guys, they told us that this job has its little perks? This is definitely one of them." said Sam, grinning from ear to ear. But both their smiles faded as the brunette pulled away.

"Oh come on," Sam howled; Alec merely shook his head in disappointment. "What a rip!" They both slumped back into their chairs, but a moment later they shot back up as the blonde furiously pulled the brunette into a kiss of wild emotion.

"Yes," Sam jumped. "Thank you, God!"

But Alec didn't react; he was beginning to notice something. He edged closer to the screen, squinting in the light. "I recognize those girls," he said, but Sam wasn't paying attention. Alec looked over just as Sam was beginning to unzip his jeans. "Whoa!" shouted Alec. "No fucking way, man!"

"What!"

"Absolutely not! Don't even try that shit while I'm here. Save it."

Sam did his pants back up, frustrated. On the screen, the blonde had pushed the brunette away violently, and they were now staring each other down. Alec hit the zoom button another time; what he had been looking at earlier now caught Sam's eye as well. The blonde had tears in her eyes. Both men were suddenly struck with feelings of shame and guilt; it was clear to them that this wasn't just some act of lust or experimentation. There was passion and pain and longing.

"I think those are the Slayers," said Alec. They both jumped a little as they watched Buffy backhand Faith before taking off towards the elevator.

"That's them all right," replied Sam.

They watched as Faith got to her feet and stared after Buffy looking hurt and confused.

"Hey, Alec,"

"Hmm?" Alec's eyes were still locked on the screen. Faith ran her fingers through her hair and paced back and forth a few times before leaving the training room herself.

"What are we supposed to do with this?" Sam asked. "I mean, this is…"

"This is none of our business," interjected Alec. He returned his gaze to the now unoccupied screen. The tension of what had just taken place still lingered; it was powerful and overbearing. "We keep our mouths shut."


	14. Questions

Buffy stood heaving, her back against the elevator door. Her eyes were firmly shut; she was straining to hold back her tears. She shut out the sound of the elevator music and was listening to the sound of her heart beating rapidly within her ribcage. She felt light headed and her stomach was turning over and over inside of her.

What the hell was happening? It had to be a dream. A crazy, nonsensical hallucination brought on by the drugs she had been given during surgery. This _would_ have been a somewhat plausible rationalization had Buffy not felt this very real burning in her chest; had she not distinctly felt Faith's lips on her own. Had she not smelt Faith's scent deep within her, or felt the heat radiating off of both their bodies. There was no denying what had just happened, and that perhaps is what scared Buffy the most. She was backed into a corner; it wasn't a completely unfamiliar feeling, but she used to be able to find a way out. Duck and weave, dig a hole… whatever it took to escape feelings like these. But now she was trapped. To deal or not to deal, that is the question.

The elevator jutted to a stop. Before the doors slid open Buffy caught her breath and wiped her eyes. _This never happened._ She stepped out of the elevator with her mind made up and her head held high; too confident. She knew full well that this wasn't going to be easy. She couldn't be alone with her self right now. _Where did Dawn say my room was?_

This floor of Wolfram and Hart looked more like a hotel corridor. It was carpeted as opposed to the linoleum tiling in the infirmary. The lighting was soft and warm; very welcoming. The walls were papered and decorated with paintings, and each mahogany door along the hall had tiny gold numbers.

Buffy approached the room she believed to be hers: #347. She turned the handle but it was locked; there was a tiny card slot above the handle. She didn't have a keycard; probably because everyone was expecting her to be sleeping in the infirmary. Buffy knocked on the door and prayed that Xander wasn't asleep; he tended to be a heavy sleeper. But considering the events of the past couple days, it seemed unlikely that he would be sleeping at all. And she was right. After a moment, Xander Harris opened the door looking sleep deprived and worn down, but his eyes widened when he saw Buffy standing in front of him. She took note that he now had a glass eye, just like Dawn had said, and it was indeed an impressive replacement.

"Buffy!" Xander wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace. Buffy closed her eyes and held tight; she needed to be held, she needed to be touched. She was just beginning to find the comfort she needed when Xander quickly pulled away and held her out in front of him. "Wait! What are you doing out of bed? I mean, are you okay? You should be resting."

Buffy anxiously pushed her way past Xander and into the room. "I feel fine," she sighed, wringing her hands. "And I'm so done with the whole resting thing. I feel like I've slept enough to last a lifetime." Her eyes darted around the room; despite the luxurious corridors the actual rooms themselves weren't all that brilliant. There was a small living area with a couch, a TV and a coffee table. Then off to the side was a bathroom and what Buffy guessed to be the door to the only bedroom.

"One bedroom, huh?" Buffy noted.

Xander closed the door behind them. "Well, we _are_ guests at an evil law firm. I suppose it would be out of character for them to make us feel entirely comfortable here." Xander regarded the television. "They don't even have TiVo."

"Wow. That's evil."

"I know, right?"

Buffy walked over to the stripe patterned couch and flopped down, there she sat staring at her hands in her lap. She noticed that she was shaking slightly and tried to steady herself so Xander wouldn't notice. He came over and sat down next to her but she didn't speak to him. She felt as if it was impossible to talk about anything while her mind was so scattered.

What had just happened with Faith? She had been trying not to think about it, but why bother? This wasn't something that was going to go away. Ever. No matter what happened from this point on nothing was going to be the same. Keeping in tradition with what her friends had started, Buffy wanted to blame Faith; it was all Faith's doing. She was the victim. But then there was that haunting question that made all of this so terrifying: What was Faith guilty of that she herself wasn't? Sure, Faith had kissed Buffy… but Buffy had kissed her back. And what's more: Faith had been cautious; she had made her move slowly and carefully. Buffy was given plenty of chances to pull out, but she didn't. And when it was Faith that pulled out, she had wanted more. She was the guilty one; guilty of desire. Buffy was well acquainted with the feeling of desire, but never before had she felt it for another girl, let alone Faith… or at least that's what she was telling herself. She wasn't sure anymore; the past 72 hours had felt so strange. It felt as though ever since the battle had ended, she had been fighting her own war inside her head. And it all somehow seemed centered around Faith.

"Buffy, you okay?" Xander placed his hand gently on her arm. "Is this about what happened with Faith?"

Buffy jumped a little and stared at Xander in disbelief, tears threatening to once again make an appearance. "W-What?" she choked. How did he know? How _could_ he know?

"I'm gonna be honest," Xander sighed as Buffy's entire body tensed up. "I don't think anyone really blames Faith for what happened. Except for maybe Dawn; she has serious trust issues when it comes to your darker half."

Buffy let out a discreet sigh of relief; of course there was no way Xander could have known.

"You shouldn't say things like that," Buffy looked away, slightly irritated.

"What, calling Faith your darker half? Why?"

Exhausted, Buffy brought her hands to her face and rubbed her swollen and tear-streaked features before running her fingers through her hair. "I don't know, okay? I just…"

"I thought it sounded better than calling her the half that turns homicidal and kills innocent people," Xander shrugged, oblivious.

"Xander! God, do you hear yourself?" Buffy jumped up from the couch. _Is this what I sound like?_ She thought. As confused as she was feeling right now, other things were coming into startling perspective for the young slayer. Hearing Xander refer to Faith in such a casually demeaning manner was nothing new to Buffy, but it was a habit that she herself had recently kicked, and as hypocritical as it seemed, she was feeling the sting of Xander's words in Faith's place. Buffy felt as though she owed it to the other slayer to defend her at long last. "We're talking about a human being here."

"Buffy…" Xander stood up as well. Staring at his best friend, he was at a loss for words.

"Everyone deserves the chance to start over," She said quietly. _It's not like we haven't been here before; there was Angel, not to mention Willow…and Anya. _Buffy thought it best not to play that card.

"What's going on with you?" Xander asked, placing his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I don't understand."

"I know," she replied. "But I think I'm starting to."

Buffy gave Xander a weak smile before turning away and heading towards the bathroom for a much needed and anticipated shower that she prayed would wash away so much more than sweat, blood and tears.


	15. The Slayer and The Principal

**Author's Note**

**Welcome back!**

**It's been almost a year since I posted Chapter 14. I won't waste time begging your forgiveness. **

**Here's Chapter 15. A little (very little) something to get things rolling. **

**Enjoy and stay tuned.**

There is a possibility that Faith is dreaming right now.

It's possible... but it's not probable. Not to mention very unlikely.

She'd had dreams like this before, but they usually consisted of waking up to find Buffy in her prison cell, straddling her in her bunk and whispering in her ear all the little things that Faith longed to hear her say.

This was nothing like that, and she certainly wasn't opposed to the idea of waking up to find this was all a dream.

Or was she? Kissing Buffy was obviously something that found its way into Faith's thoughts now and again. In her opinion, her complicated past with Buffy stemmed almost entirely from unspoken feelings. Would she really take the evening's events back if she could?

_Probably not_, Faith thought.

She was sitting on the tiled floor of Robin Wood's infirmary room, underneath the window sill with her back against the wall. Listening to the consistent sound of Wood's steady breathing as he slept in the hospital bed ten feet away, Faith sat staring at the up at the ceiling. She thought about the past, the present and the future. All of which had one thing in common: a certain blonde-haired, green-eyed slayer.

Faith brought her hand up and let her fingertips graze her lips for what seemed like the hundredth time since she and Buffy had kissed. They were still tingling with desire. Her front teeth pulsated in their roots, still sore from knocking hard against Buffy's.

Faith clenched her fists and shut her eyes firmly, her face twisted as she tried to force the image of the blonde slayer's face from her thoughts. That heartbreaking look Buffy had given her before running from the training room was seared into Faith's mind. It was a look of confusion and fear. Fear of Faith or perhaps fear of herself? Neither offered Faith much hope.

_But she kissed you back, remember? So you didn't make a _complete_ ass of yourself._

Faith groaned a little and knocked her head against the wall behind her in frustration.

"I owe you an apology."

A soft and tired voice broke the silence of the room and the slayer's train of thought. Faith jumped to her feet to be met by Wood's gentle gaze.

"What do you mean?" Faith went and stood next to the bed. Her eyes were dark. In the back of her mind she was still seeing Buffy's face.

"I know I've been misjudging a lot lately," Robin continued with an expressionless face. "But I thought for sure I had you pegged."

Faith smirked a little and put her hand on Robin's shoulder. "I probably should have warned you: there's really no point in trying to peg someone who hasn't even got themselves figured out."

Wood smiled and raised an eyebrow. "_You?_ No way. Not little miss I-got-the-whole-**world**-figured-out!"

The slayer suppressed her embarrassed chuckle and bit the inside of her cheek while Robin continued to grin at his own sarcastic remark. Faith shook her head and smiling, leaned in a bit and whispered, "Um, yeah. Something you should know: sometimes... I'm full of shit."

Both the slayer and the principal began to laugh, Robin choking a little on the pain. Still laughing, Faith moved to help him but he held his hand up in refusal. A few seconds later it had passed, the laughter and the pain.

Faith glanced at the clock on the wall across the room. It read 12:54. She couldn't believe she had spent so much time hiding out in Robin's room.

"It's late," she said. "I should go."

As Faith made for the door, Wood called after her. She turned to find Robin's eyes looking directly into her own. That kind of stare that told her he was trying to read her.

"I still stand by what I said before. I still think you're waiting for someone to surprise you. I just realize now that it's not me."

Faith looked away, no longer able to hold his gaze.

After a moment, Wood smirked a little. "I don't take it all back, though. I'm still prettier than you are."

Once again, Faith broke into a smile. She shook her head, rolled her eyes and headed out the door.

"You wish."


	16. A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

**A Note from The Author**

**Hello readers! First off, I want to thank everyone who has been following this story since the beginning, and those of you who keep coming back for more, even after all this time. Within the past couple months alone I have gained over forty subscribers, more than 20 of which have added this story to their Favorites.**

**This may not be a huge achievement in the grand history of fanfictiondotnet, but it's more than I had ever anticipated when I decided to share my story with you all over two years ago. So again, thank you!**

**The recent flood of subscriptions is the reason I am posting this note. Some people have voiced their concerns that I might not be finishing this story. I am writing this to inform you all that this is NOT the case. I have not forgotten or given up on this story. As a matter of fact, two brand new chapters are on the way! **

**So keep checking back! **

**There's still more in store for our two favorite Slayers.**

**- Destruct0Girl**

**11/04/07**


	17. Dreaming In Metaphors

"What is _that_, Summers?" Xander towered over Buffy looking confused and slightly hurt, his eyes piercing hers relentlessly.

"Xander, your eye!" The tiny blonde bounced on her heels a few times, smiling. "You've got two eyes!"

"Haven't you heard?" He asked sternly without blinking. "I'm the 6 Million Dollar Man. Now what is that?"

"Huh? What is what?" Buffy peered around, trying to figure out what her friend was going on about. They were standing in the middle of Sunnydale Cemetery, amidst the L stones. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

Xander sighed in frustration and lowered his rifle. "Your clothes, Summers! Your attire! We agreed no neutral colors."

Buffy glanced down at her outfit with raised eyebrows; simple pants and tank combination. "Uh, Xander? My shirt is red."

"You call it red, Slayer. I call it an accident waiting to happen."

"But I..."

"Give her a break, Harris," a familiar Iowan accent approached from behind; Riley Finn, dressed in civilian clothes but wielding a crossbow. "That's the Slayer you're talking to. She knows what she's doing. Besides, I think it suits her. All dressed up like Big Sister; it's very becoming."

"Riley! Oh my God!" Smiling, Buffy ran up and gave Riley a welcoming hug, which he returned with one arm, his other hanging at his side with the crossbow. "What are you doing here? I didn't think you were coming to Graduation."

Grinning a toothy grin, Riley replied, "I know I'm running a little late, but there's no way I'd miss this for the world."

Xander approached grimly, throwing his rifle across his shoulder. "What kept you, soldier? Report."

"Uh, yeah. We had an accident," Riley scratched the back of his head. "I shot Osbourne in the back.."

"Osbourne?" Buffy repeated. "As in Oz!?"

"It's okay," a placid voice called out. "He hit mostly padding."

Out from the shadows stepped Daniel Osbourne, dressed in a wolf costume with an arrow protruding from his left shoulder blade.

"Oz, why are you wearing that?" Buffy asked, examining the cheesy wolf suit. Oz's ever indifferent expression peered out from the open mouth of the rubber snouted beast.

"Wolf in wolf's clothing. She'll never see it coming." He replied.

Buffy looked around in confusion. "Okay, are we all turning into our Halloween costumes again, 'cause I didn't even know it was...Wait, who won't see what coming?"

"You only wish it was Halloween, Slayer," Xander said, maintaining his stern military composure. "At least then you'd have a reason for this foolish masquerade. Osbourne here is simply being strategic; what's your excuse?"

"Xander, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Before Xander could even open his mouth, a static covered voice rang out from the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt.

"Enemy sighted! Rogue Slayer seen headed towards the mausoleum! Over."

"This is it, team!" Xander cocked his M16 and spat into the grass beside him before addressing his company.. "Finn, you're with me. Slayer, you're with wolf-boy."

Buffy glanced frantically around at all her friends. "'Rogue Slayer'? Guys, what's going on?"

Completely ignoring Buffy's plea for explanation, Riley loaded five rounds into his crossbow and held it at the ready. He and Xander nodded to each other and were off without another word.

Oz patted Buffy on the shoulder, "Come on, Buffy. Target's on the move."

"But..." Buffy hesitated before finally running to keep in toe with Oz. "Who're we hunting, exactly? How come I didn't know about this? I'm the Slayer. Shouldn't I know about these things?" Once again, Buffy was ignored.

"Oh right, that reminds me," said Oz, handing her a small yet weighty bundle wrapped in what appeared to be a bloody handkerchief. "You're gonna need this."

Confused, the slayer gently unraveled the object in question. Her eyes grew wide in horror as a glint of steel poked out from underneath the cloth. It was a dagger. Right away she recognized the familiar, unique and deadly design of the weapon in her hand. Buffy felt her stomach sink as she suddenly became very aware of who they were hunting.

"I can't use this..." She said softly while gazing intensely at the orange and crimson stains that plaqued the razor-sharp blade. "Oz?"

No answer.

Looking up, Buffy saw that she was now completely alone. There was no sign of Oz anywhere. She was alone with nothing but the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees surrounding her.

"Hello?" The slayer looked around, but there was nothing but headstones and foliage in every direction. Wrapping the dagger back up and tucking it into the waist of her jeans, Buffy began walking through the cemetery with cautious steps.

Minutes later, still not having found her friends, the Slayer's cautious steps soon became frantic steps, which then grew into full on sprints. As she ran, she began to notice a thick fog growing around her. She couldn't tell whether or not she was running into it or if it was chasing her.

Not entirely sure where she was or where she was heading, Buffy glanced behind her, only to collide head-on with another speeding object. The impact sent her to the ground where the unkempt grass broke her fall.

"S'up, B?" Buffy looked up to be greeted with that familiar crooked smile that could only belong to one person.

"Faith." The blonde accepted the hand of the younger slayer standing above her and was pulled to her feet. "I'm not too sure what's going on, but everyone's looking for you. And not in a good way."

Faith shrugged, "What else is new?"

"Faith, I'm serious, you need to get out of here."

"Wish I could, but it's not that simple."

Buffy's eyes grew wide in desperation, "They're gonna kill you, Faith!"

"Look, if you're so concerned then help me out," The brunette Slayer shoved her hands into her back pockets and shrugged. "You're the Sheriff 'round these parts. Get me out of here."

Buffy stared sadly into the eyes of the young woman in front of her, who just stared back with the tiniest of smiles spread across her lips. The blonde slayer forced herself to look away.

"...I can't."

"Sure you can," Faith reached out to touch the tiny slayer's shoulder but she stepped away, still unable to meet her gaze.

Buffy shook her head, "The team's counting on me. My friends are counting on me."

"So what?" Faith chuckled. "They'll get over it. This has nothing to do with them, anyways."

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure an assault rifle, a crossbow and Oz in a wolf suit would suggest otherwise. They're hunting you! Why are you being so stubborn?"

"They're only hunting me because of you," Faith said very matter-of-fact like.

Buffy's mouth dropped, "Me!? If they're hunting you it's because of what you did!"

A beat. Even she felt the sting of her own words as soon as they left her mouth.

Non-surprisingly, Faith looked taken aback.

"Ouch, B. God, and here I am thinking we were almost done with all this. Shoulda' known better, I guess."

"Faith..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm a big girl. And you and I both know a lot about running, don't we?"

Buffy stared at the ground, unsure of how to respond.

"So if that's what I have to do here, then so be it." Faith shrugged. "A few extra laps after all this time won't make much of a difference." She stepped up in front of Buffy, forcing her to look up again. "But if you're not gonna help me, you can either stand in my way or get out of it."

The older slayer stood still but tore her glistening eyes away from Faith's.

Faith sighed, "Right. I guess it is what it is, then." She pushed her way past Buffy without a second glance. "See you around, Blondie."

Buffy closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the other slayer's footsteps beating the grass beneath her as she ran in the opposite direction.

A few minutes later when Buffy lifted her eyelids she was met with a sheet of white and grey. The fog had completely closed itself around her. She could just barely make out her own feet. She ran a few steps forward but it felt as though she was jogging on the spot. It was very disorienting; the slayer could feel herself starting to panic as she spun around searching for a sense of direction and stability. She heard voices shouting off in the distance but couldn't get a grasp on what direction they were coming from.

"Hey!"

She called out. The shouting continued, but no matter which direction Buffy ran, the voices always seemed to be drifting in the opposite. So she stopped, stood still and let the fog swallow her whole as she strained to hear past the sound of her pumping heart and heavy breathing.

Soon there was nothing but screaming silence. Then two cracking shots rang out through the air, followed closely by a bellowing, involuntary cry from the depths of Buffy's lungs.

Her eyes flew open, and screaming the other slayer's name, Buffy shot up from her sleep, leaving the fog behind her.


End file.
